Pollachi
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| ?Pollachi Tamil Nadu • India | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Area • Elevation | • 293 m (961 ft) |
| District(s) | Coimbatore |
| Population | 88,293 (2001) |
| Codes • Pincode • Telephone • Vehicle | • 6420xx • +91-4259 • TN41 |
Coordinates: Pollachi (Tamil: பொள்ளாச்சி) is a town and a municipality in the Coimbatore district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located 42 km south of Coimbatore. It is an important commercial area in the region and has a big market for agricultural products. Coconuts and tender-coconuts are exported from here to all over India. Pollachi is the nearest town to the Indira Gandhi National Park.
Due to its proximity to the Western Ghats, Pollachi has a pleasant climate throughout the year. Pollachi is also famed for its market (சந்தை), especially for Jaggery and cattle (மாட்டுச்சந்தை). The Jaggery Market in Pollachi is the Asia's biggest Jaggery Market.
Pollachi is a popular movie filming location for the Tamil film industry.[1]
[edit] Geography
Pollachi is located at .[2] It has an average elevation of 293 metres (961 feet).
[edit] Origin of Name
Pollachi was known as "Polil VAichi"(பொழில் வாய்ச்சி) in ancient times which means "The land of natural wealth and prosperity"(You can find this name in the Lord Subramanyar temple in Pollachi).The name Polil VAichi had changed into pollachi by time.The historic town of Pollachi was once known as Mudi Konda Chola Nallur during the period of Kulottunga Chola III. The Subramanyar temple here is an ancient one, with a history that goes back for about 8 centuries. It is believed that the Subramanyar temple here was once a Shiva temple, enshrining Agastheeswaram Udaiyaar, with the festival deity being Subramanyar. Much of the construction in the temple now belongs to the 20th century. There is another story with the Origin of name, Pollachi was known as "Porull Aatchi" which means "The land of wealthy Government". Its said that everything is sold/bought in the market(including elephants) except ones parents, in the olden days.
[edit] Administration
Pollachi North Block Map
Pollachi South Block Map
[edit] Member of Parliament
Pollachi, Valparai, Dharampuram, Kinathukidavu, and Udumalpet form the Pollachi parliament constituency, for which the MP is C. Krishnan.
[edit] Members of Legislature Assembly (MLA)
Jayaraman .V
[edit] Municipality-statistics
- Population 88303
- Area (km²) 13
- No.of Schools 56 Higher Secondary Schools
- No.of Maternity Hospitals 4
- No.of Other Hospitals/Dispensaries 2+others15
Places
- No.of Other Hotels/Lodges 25
- No.of Marriage Halls 22
- No.of Thetres 13
[edit] Infrastructure
[edit] Bus Stand
Pollachi has a central bus stand which is used by TNSTC, and the private operators.This is situated in the leg of the town. A new foundation stone was laid by local administration minister M.K.Stalin in November 2007 to construct an additional bus stand for want of space, just opposite to the existing bus stand.
[edit] Railway Station
Currently only metre gauge trains are operated in this section, the major routes being Coimbatore - Pollachi - Dindigul and Palghat - Pollachi - Madurai.Plans for broad gauge conversion of this segment have been approved by the government and are expected to be carried out shortly. Pollachi and neighbouring Kinathukadavu have recently been joined to the Palakkad railway division amid strong oppoositions and protests from some political parties.BroadGauge Conversion
[edit] Telecomunications
Pollachi is well connected with all GSM & CDMA mobile phone operators. The major players Aircell, Airtel, BSNL, and Hutch in GSM segment and Reliance, Tata Indicom in CDMA segment cover Pollachi.
[edit] Places of attraction
[edit] Anamalai Wildlife Sanctuary
Anamalai wildlife sanctuary is about 90 km from Coimbatore and is situated at an altitude of 1,400 meters in the Western Ghats near Pollachi. The area of the sanctuary is 958 km². An ecological paradise, this sanctuary encompasses a National Park. It has recently been renamed as Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary.
[edit] TopSlip
It is a picturesque location in the Anamalai Hills. It is about 37 km from Pollachi. This small town is an ideal picnic spot. Arrangements are available at Topslip to take tourists around the Sanctuary on elephant back or by van.
[edit] Chinnakallar
Chinnakalar is a geographically important place as it is the region that receives the second highest rain fall in India[citation needed]. There is a falls in Chinnakallar which sounds like a roaring lion.
[edit] Parambikulam National Park
The Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary is a reservoir of tranquil greenery ensconced in a valley between the Aanamalai ranges of Tamil Nadu and the Nelliampathy ranges of Kerala. The areas hilly and rocky, drained by several rivers, including the Parambikulam, the Sholayar and the Thekkedy.
Thickly forested with stands of bamboo, sandalwood, rosewood and teak, the sanctuary has some marshy land and scattered patches of grassland. Parambikulam was once home to some of south India's finest stands of teak. Little remains of the original teak forests, other than the famous Kannimari teak tree, the largest in Asia as most of these have now been replaced by teak plantations. The tree is about 5 km from Thunakadavu, and is one of Parambikulam's prime attractions .The[3] one of the oldest and largest teak trees in the world is another attraction in the sanctuary.It has a girth of 6.52 metres, height of 48.25 metres when the measurement was taken in 2003.[4](But it's claimed that the biggest teak in the world is in Uttaradit province of Thailand too, with a girth of 10 metres and height of 47 metres).
[edit] Valparai
Valparai is one of the famous Tourist Spots in Tamil Nadu. It is located above the 3,500 feet (1,070 m) from the sea level on the Anamalai mountain range. It stands majestically with forest all around. Sholayar Dam in Valparai is a wonderful scenery to watch. Other Places to visit in Valparai are Puncha Mugha Vinayakar Koil, Balaji Temple, the spread across tea Estates etc.
[edit] Parambikulam - Aliyar Multipurpose Project
[edit] InterLinking of Rivers
This project consists of a series of dams interconnected by tunnels and canals at various elevations in order to harness the Parambikulam, Aliyar, Nirar, Sholiyar, Thunkadavu, Thenkkadi and Palar rivers, laid for irrigation and power generation. The scheme is an outstanding example of engineering skill. It is located in Anamalai range.
The Parambikulam-Aliyar Project is a complex multi-basin multipurpose project. Seven streams-five flowing westward and two towards the east- have been dammed and their reservoirs interlinked by tunnels. The water is ultimately delivered to the drought-prone areas in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu and the Chittur area of Kerala. The project has a command area of 1620 square kilometres with 185 MW of power generation capacity.
[edit] Reverent SubramaniaSwamy Thirukoil
This temple is located at Pollachi. Konga Cholas built this temple of 'Lord Shiva' and named it as 'Thiruvahatheswaramudayar' temple, 700 years ago. This temple is a of high architectural value. In due course, it was called as 'Subramanyar Kovil' and 'Lord Subramanyar' is worshipped here.
[edit] Reverent Maasani Amman Thirukoil - Aanaimalai
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[edit] Reverent Alagunachi Amman Temple - Pollachi
It is located at pollachi.it was built in early 1700. in that period, group of people was moving from valliarachal (nearly 80 kilometer fom pollachi),they rested on a river side in pollachi (now the river is no more) they brought the statue of the family god (Arulmigu Alagunachi Amman)and placed it near by and slept, in the morning they found the stacue is missing and so they select one brick and placed it in the same place and built a small temple,and then the family stayed in pollachi. Now the temple is rebuilt in the year 2002.
[edit] Reverent ThiruMoorthy Temple - ThiruMoorthy Hills
It is situated at the foot of Thirumoorthy Hills adjoining the Thirumoorthy Dam. This is about 20 km from Udumalpet on the Highway from Palani to Coimbatore. A perennial stream flows by the side of the Sri Amaralingeswarar temple and nearby there is Thirumoorthy Falls. It is believed that a few thousand years ago Athari Maharishi along with his wife Anushiya devi lived here. Moved by their prayer, Lord Shiva together with Brammah and Vishnu (Thiru Moorthigal) came in disguise to test their devotion. Overwhelmed by their appearance the couple offered them tribute. The Thiru Moorthigal refused to accept their offerings as such and demanded that the offering should be made by Anushiya devi in nudity. She accepted their demand and with her power of devotion she changed the Thiru Moorthi's into 3 years old babies and fed them. On seeing the power of devoting Anushiya devi, the Thiru Moorthi's blessed the couple and hence the place is known as Thiru Moorthi hills
[edit] Reverent Sulakkal Mariamman Thirukoil - Sulakkal
Three hundred years ago, Sulakal was amidst of dense forest nesting dangerous wild animals and poisonous reptiles. The nearby villagers used to feed their domestic animals in the forest. The owner of a particular cow, which was not giving milk followed it and found his cow shedding milk on a sandhill. On seeing this the cow started galloping. At that moment it's legs were hit by the sandhill. He was shocked to see blood oozing out of the sandhill. He dreamed about the Goddess that night and was dictated to raise a temple in the name of the goddess (Sulakkal Mariamman).
[edit] Reverent Shree Velayudhaswamy Thirukoil - Senjerimalai
The 'Thenserigiri Sthalapuranam' relates: As Lord Muruga set out with his battalion to subdue the demon Surapadma, Lord Shiva summoned him to the Thenserigiri hills and, initiating him to certain mantras, endowed him with invincible powers to route and destroy the demon and his retinue.
This is the legendary origin of this temple. Since then Lord Muruga came to be worshipped as Manthragiri and Sri Velayudhaswami. This temple was originally built by Karikala Chola and renovated by Veeraballalai III dates back to 13th century. A holy spring called 'Gnanatheertha Sunai' and a sacred tree known as 'Karunochi' can be seen
[edit] Reverent Echanari Vinayagar Thirukoil - Coimbatore
The temple is among the oldest one in Coimbatore and dates back to 1500A.D. The moolavar at this temple was actually meant for Perur Patteshwarar temple and since it got stuck on its way from Madurai, Eachnari became the blessed place. The deity's height is 6 feet (2 m) and the width is 3 feet (1 m) and is one of the biggest in South India. The last kumbabhishekam was performed in 1990.
[edit] Ambarampalayam Darga
This darga is situated on the banks of the river aliyar.
[edit] Reverent Maghudeeswaran Thirukovil - Pollachi
Temple for Lord Shiva raised before 1200 years (i.e. around 800 A.D). It is located 18 km away from Pollachi near Ramanamuthaliputhur village which is between Aanaimalai-Sungam road. Temple was almost ruined and all its pillars had collapsed previously. Currently, reconstruction is in progress. The temple is surrounded by green valleys and rivers that make it more beautiful.
[edit] Dams
- Azhiyar Dam
- Thriumurthi Dam
- Amaravathi Dam
- Parambikulam Dam
- Thunakaduvu Dam
- Kadambarai Dam
- Peruvaripallam Dam
- Nirar Dam
- Meenkarai Dam - This dam is built for multipurpose project such as irrigation, Hydro electricity production.
- Sholayar Dam - It is the second deepest dam of Asia[citation needed]. Situated at a distance of 20 km., from Valparai
- UpperAliyar Dam
[edit] Round Tana
This is located in Mahalingapuram colony, and is the most favourite destination for joggers, walkers, volleyball players and shuttle cork enthusiasts. Opening at 5 A.M, people come here to breathe the fresh air of the neam trees surrounding this. This has a section for small children , a section for shuttlers, one for volley ballers and a long track for walking and jogging.
[edit] Educational institutions
[edit] Schools
- Arokiamatha Hr.Sec.School,Mahalingapuram
- Arokiamatha Hr.Sec.School ,Chinnampalayam
- Bharathiya Vidhya Mandir,Mahalingapuram
- Bharath Vidhya Niketan
- Bharathiar Matric School
- Central Higher Secondary School,A.Nagoor.
- Gandhi Kala Nilayam High School
- Good Shephered Matric School,Jothinagar
- Govt. Hr. Secondary School
- Govt. High School, Kanjampatti.
- Kuppanda Gounder/Alagammaiachi Girls Hr.Sec.School,Mahalingapuram
- Keshav Vidhya Mandir Matric Hr.Sec School, palaghat Road , Pollachi
- Krishnasamy Matriculation School
- Mariammal High School,Jothinagar
- Municipal Boys Higher Secondary School
- Nachiarvidyalayam
- N.G.N.G. Higher Sec. School, Reddiarur
- Our Lady of Lourde's Matric Higher Sec.School
- Oxford School
- Palaniammal Higher Sec.School, Kaliyapuram
- Palani Gounder High.Sec.School,Mackinampatti
- Patasala, Mahalingapuram
- P.K.D. Matriculation School
- Rukmani Ammal Matric School,Jothinagar
- R.V.S Matriculation Higher Secondary School,Rediyarmadam
- Shanthi Niketan School, Mahalingapuram
- Shenbagam Matriculation Hr. Sec.School
- Shaanthi Matriculation School
- Shree Vignesware Hr. Secondary School
- Siwalik Matriculation Hr.sec.School , A.Sangampalayam
- Sri Vagisvari Vidya Mandir
- Sri Lathangi Vidhya Mandir School
- Silver Bells Matriculation School
- S.R.M.H.S School, Mahalingapuram
- Viswadeepthi Higher Secondary School,Unjavelampatti
[edit] Arts and sciences colleges
[edit] Engineering college
[edit] ParaMedical college
- Siva Paramedical College
- Dr.Alva para medical College & Nursing
[edit] Industries
Polllachi has lot of textile and coir industries.
[edit] Agriculture
Coconut farms are the main source of agriculture. Pollachi also called "Coconut City of South India",as She covers the vast areas with Coconut farms.
[edit] Notable people born in Pollachi
- Bharat Ratna C. Subramaniam
- Padhmabushan Dr.N.Mahalingam
- Sirpi Balasubramaniam
- Padma Shri Sudharani
- Thiru S.K.Kalyanasundaram
[edit] Demographics
As of 2001 India census,[5] Pollachi had a population of 88,293. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Pollachi has an average literacy rate of 79%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 83%, and female literacy is 74%. In Pollachi, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age.
[edit] References
Major parts of this informative text was contributed by our local researcher in Pollachi, Mr.P.Prahaladh
[edit] External links
- Pollachi page
- A travelogue to Topslip & Parambikulambpy:পোল্লাচি
ta:பொள்ளாச்சி

